Candriam S.C.A. Decreases Stock Position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

Key Points

• Candriam S.C.A. has reduced its stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. by 19.1%, selling 4,792 shares and taking its total holdings to 20,354 shares valued at $786,000.
• Several institutions have increased their investments in Las Vegas Sands, notably First Trust Advisors LP, which raised its stake by 674.0%, now holding 349,667 shares worth approximately $17.96 million.
• Las Vegas Sands recently reported earnings, posting $0.79 EPS, surpassing analysts' expectations of $0.53, alongside a revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter.

Candriam S.C.A. reduced its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) by 19.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,354 shares of the casino operator's stock after selling 4,792 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.'s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $786,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Optiver Holding B.V. bought a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Center for Financial Planning Inc. bought a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the first quarter valued at about $42,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 133.1% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,499 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 856 shares during the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the first quarter valued at about $127,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 103.2% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,587 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $139,000 after buying an additional 1,822 shares during the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LVS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Macquarie raised their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $52.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Bank of America raised their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $52.50 to $58.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. UBS Group raised their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday. Susquehanna cut their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $59.00 to $58.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Las Vegas Sands has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $59.00.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of LVS stock traded up $1.00 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $57.70. 3,126,381 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,598,285. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $50.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $43.51. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 12-month low of $30.18 and a 12-month high of $57.74. The stock has a market cap of $39.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.14, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.53.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The casino operator reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.26. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.16% and a return on equity of 55.37%. The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.83 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.55 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 5th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 5th. Las Vegas Sands's payout ratio is presently 50.51%.

Las Vegas Sands Profile

Las Vegas Sands Corp., together with its subsidiaries, develops, owns, and operates integrated resorts in Macao and Singapore. It owns and operates The Venetian Macao Resort Hotel, the Londoner Macao, The Parisian Macao, The Plaza Macao and Four Seasons Hotel Macao, Cotai Strip, and the Sands Macao in Macao, the People's Republic of China; and Marina Bay Sands in Singapore.